Insurance doing ‘woeful’ job of attracting millennials, exec says

The insurance industry needs to do much more to attract millennials, according to one top executive.

Speaking at the recent Insurance Risk & Capital Conference, Jonathan Reiss, group chief financial officer for Hamilton Insurance Group, said the insurance industry’s appeal to young people was “woeful.” That needed to change, Reiss said, in order to attract fresh blood to the business.

“(Hamilton’s) former CEO, Brian Duperreault, once said insurance should be catnip to the millennial generation, who care so much about having a job that makes a difference,” Reiss said. “But in most of the world, our image is woeful. In the US and the UK, less than 5% of high school and college undergrads even consider a career in insurance.”

Reiss said younger insurance professionals are sorely needed as the industry’s top players age out of the business.

“In the US, there’s a looming talent crisis as more than 300,000 managers approach retirement in the next three years,” he said. “No-one is clamoring to take their place.”

Reiss said recruiting millennials was especially important since the industry needed employees with technology skills, according to a Royal Gazette report.